INBOX:THE "MEDIA centre" remains something of a fable. I mean, what is it? A computer that stores media? Or a multimedia centre that happens to run like a computer?, asks MIKE BUTCHER
Perhaps the issue won’t be resolved for some time. Meanwhile, the electronics industry keeps churning out what it thinks we want – and Asus thinks we want cheap.
Their latest offering in this vein comes in the shape of the Eee Box B206 which stands a slim 27mm wide and 178mm tall. This is an update on a previous incarnation, but now the DVI connector on the back has been replaced by an HDMI port.
This updated version has the same 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 chip and 1GB of DDR II memory. The 160GB drive is capacious while the 802.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet is fast and comes running Windows XP Home Edition.
Coming with a 5-in-1 memory card reader (SD/SDHC/MS/MS Pro/MMC), two USB ports and headphone and microphone sockets, the B206 will also wink while in standby – not ideal for a “media centre” which is supposed to be invisible when not in use, next to the TV.
The unit comes with connections for a Wi-Fi antenna, a power socket, HDMI, two USB ports, ethernet and an audio line out port. You’ll get a remote control and a discrete infrared receiver which sadly takes up one of the USB sockets.
Its “media centre” credentials stem from the fact that, with a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 graphics chip and 256MB of DDR2 memory, the Eee Box B206 can now play back high-definition video. However, in practice, this configuration means it is a better at reproducing standard definition video than HD.
Asus has included its own media player application, Eee Cinema, which displays a media centre style interface for navigating with the remote control. But while Eee Cinema will play WMV and AVI, it won’t play MKV, MP4 or QuickTime files.
The short story is, don’t expect too much. It’s only by downloading the open source Media Player Classic Home Cinema (MPC-HC) that you’ll get better performance out of it.
What else do you expect from a machine powered by an Atom never designed for this kind of task? Atom chips were created to make computers cheaper, not better.
As a result most home theatre PC buffs will find the Eee Box B206 a limiting choice. But those wanting a cheap and cheerful PC for playing occasional video will find it up to the task.
